Clostridium perfringens is an anaerobic (microaerophilic), gram-positive, nonmotile, spore-forming, rod-shaped bacterium. C. perfringens is ubiquitous in the environment and is found in soil, dust, raw ingredients, such as spices used in food processing, and in the intestines of humans and animals. C. perfringens outbreaks usually result from improper handling and preparation of foods, such as inadequate cooling at the home, retail, or food service level, rarely involving commercial meat processors. This chapter discusses intrinsic and extrinsic factors that affect survival and growth in food products and contribute to outbreaks, and focuses on food processing operations that influence the numbers, spread, or characteristics. The presence of inhibitory agents in the products can affect germination of C. perfringens spores and may also affect the minimum growth temperatures for the germinated spores. Recent research has focused on combining traditional inactivation, survival, and growth-limiting factors at subinhibitory levels with emerging novel nonthermal intervention food preservation techniques using ionizing radiation, high hydrostatic pressure, or exposure to ozone. The ability of C. perfringens to cause food-borne illness and occasional associated outbreaks necessitates effective discriminatory detection methods for this pathogen in order to ensure reliable and confirmatory epidemiological screening of suspected foods. Many predictive growth models have been developed to accurately estimate C. perfringens survival following various types of food processing scenarios. The best strategy to control C. perfringens appears to be a hurdle approach combined with careful handling of foods to avoid temperature abuse.

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